The most common osteotomy requiring the accurate placement and execution of a pair of intersecting cuts is that performed to correct longitudinal angular deformity of a bone. In this operation a wedge-shaped segment of the bone is removed and the remaining segments repositioned to bring their severed surfaces together to realign the bone longitudinally. To insure correct realignment of the bone, it is essential that the saw cuts performed to remove the wedge-shaped segment be accurately placed with respect to each other. The saw cuts also are required to be planar so that when the severed end regions of the remaining bone segments are brought into contact their surfaces mate uniformly across the severed surfaces to promote rapid and structurally effective mending, or knitting, of the bone. These two requirements for the saw cuts suggest the desirability of employing a guide or guides for the osteotome, or saw, when the cuts are being made in the bone.
U.S Pat. No. 4,335,715 granted June 22, 1982 to W. H. Kirkley for "Osteotomy Guide" discloses apparatus in which a pair of pins positioned on an arcuate track are inserted into the bone to serve as a guide for the surgeon in making cuts to derotate a bone or to excise a section thereof. The guide device and method disclosed in this patent gives only a general indication of where the surgeon is to make the saw cuts and if, for example, one saw cut is misplaced, the device in no way assures that the second cut will be properly positioned in relation to the first cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,018, granted Sept. 14, 1982 to G. R. Chambers for "Osteotomy Apparatus" discloses a fairly complex assemblage for guiding saw cuts to be made during a proximal tibia osteotomy or a total knee replacement operation. The apparatus there disclosed and its method of use would be totally unsuitable for osteotomies on more fragile and delicate bones such as are found in the foot and the hand.
There is a need, therefore, for an appliance and a method which will enable a surgeon performing an osteotomy to precisely locate and effect intersecting saw cuts in a bone, particularly a small bone of the hand or foot.